Deflation (Economics)

News about Deflation (Economics), including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Apr. 1, 2015

Eurostate reports that consumer prices fell 0.1 percent in Europe in March from year-earlier period; separate report finds that unemployment rate fell to 11.3 percent in February, from 11.4 percent in January; data indicates that while eurozone continues to flirt with deflation, it is continuing to experience minimboom, lifted by oil prices, weak euro and aggressive stimulus. MORE

Mar. 18, 2015

Haruhiko Kuroda, governor of the Bank of Japan, acknowledges that aggressive campaign to create inflation has stalled, and that return to deflation is possible; assessment follows admission by bank that consumer prices are likely to cease rising. MORE

Mar. 13, 2015

Central banks in Asia have been dropping interest rates but not fast enough to offset deflation; rates, when deflation is taken into account, are rising as result; slowdown is beginning to hurt economic growth across region. MORE

Mar. 3, 2015

Eurostat reports consumer prices in Europe fell 0.3 percent in February from year earlier, third straight month of decline, raising concerns of possible deflation; jobless rate fell to lowest level since 2012. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

The Upshot; experts warn European Central Bank's decision to initiate aggressive bond-buying program in eurozone may not provide enough economic stimulus to deliver growth breakthrough and may create unpredicted global ripple effects; greatest uncertainty for Europe is whether the decision to initiate quantitative easing will be enough to arrest slide toward deflation. MORE

Jan. 16, 2015

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column asserts that inability of the Swiss to avoid deflationary trap through currency devaluation is cautionary tale for United States and other countries struggling to determine best economic policies and interest rates; holds no nation is immune to global economic influence. MORE

Nov. 3, 2014

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column refutes argument that the opposition of many Japanese business leaders to Bank of Japan's efforts to end deflation shows that bank is on the wrong track; argues, in fact, that business people often give very bad advice about the economy; warns if conventional notions of prudence prevail in Japan, fight against deflation is likely to fail. MORE

Oct. 31, 2014

Floyd Norris High & Low Finance column argues that archaic fear of inflation has led many central banks to prematurely raise interest rates in the wake of the global recession; holds that true risk facing economy is deflation, arguing that economists and officials must do more to make clear the damage that low inflation can inflict on economy; evaluates potential methods Federal Reserve could employ if inflation rate does not rise to 2 percent target on its own. MORE

Oct. 25, 2014

Floyd Norris Off The Charts column contends deflation has become reality in many European countries, at least in terms of prices of goods; notes services are less likely to experience deflation in prices, in part because it is difficult to reduce nominal wages and in part because overseas competition may be less of a factor; points out in the United States, prices for goods are rising but at a slow rate. MORE

Jun. 4, 2014

Economists fear that outbreak of ultralow inflation across 18-nation euro zone is doing more harm than good to bloc’s economic recovery; Europe’s statistics agency reports that annual euro zone inflation slumped to 0.5 percent in May from 0.7 percent in April, falling further below 2 percent level that European Central Bank considers healthy; central bank is expected to take extraordinary measures to stimulate economy. MORE

Jun. 4, 2014

European Central Bank is widely expected to start charging banks interest to keep money in its vaults as part of increasingly urgent effort to prevent euro zone from falling into deflation; so-called negative deposit rate is meant to weaken euro and discourage investors from hoarding cash, hopefully stimulating economic growth. MORE

May. 27, 2014

European Central Bank plots strategy to dodge deflation, but good options are scarce; many economists question whether new measures will have any impact, as benchmark interest rate is already close to zero. MORE

May. 9, 2014

News analysis; European Central Bank's cautious, wait-and-see approach in the face of growing threat of deflation highlights pattern of behavior that has become common among central banks; excessive caution is one reason that economies in the United States and Europe remain so weak seven years after the financial crisis began. MORE

Apr. 1, 2014

Official data shows annual euro zone inflation in March has dropped to 0.5 percent, lowest rate since 2009; rate, which is lower than economists expected, adds fire to debate about whether euro zone faces risk of debilitating deflation. MORE

Mar. 11, 2014

Many Japanese, after years of falling prices, have mind-set that they need to save, not spend, undermining Prime Min Shinzo Abe's economic recovery plan to lead country out of deflation; overall prices in Japan have not risen since late 1990s; slow progress in beating deflation reflects difficulties of overcoming entrenched expectations and behaviors. MORE

Feb. 18, 2014

Editorial warns weak European economy could soon experience deflation if government officials and central bankers do not take steps to bolster it; criticizes optimism among policy makers, especially that of the European Central Bank, which has repeatedly declined to lower interest rates. MORE

Jan. 8, 2014

Consumer prices in the euro zone barely increased in December 2013, raising fears of deflation and putting pressure on the European Central Bank to take further action. MORE

Nov. 30, 2013

Unemployment in 17 European Union countries that use the euro dropped to 12.1 percent in October 2013, from 12.2 percent in previous month, lowest rate since 2011; news is undercut by separate report that inflation has risen only to 0.9 percent from 0.7 percent, indicating persistent threat of deflation. MORE

Nov. 15, 2013

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column warns debate over the looming specter of deflation in Europe is becoming very ugly, and seems more like a battle of nations than a battle of ideas; laments that the euro seems to have introduced a climate of anger and disdain on the part of both creditors and debtors, rather than bringing Europe's nations closer together. MORE

Jul. 26, 2013

Japanese consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in June, highest annual pace in nearly five years; rise is an encouraging sign for the Bank of Japan, which is eager to end 15 years of grinding deflation. MORE

Jun. 1, 2013

Japanese government has made stemming deflation a priority, but its efforts so far have not affected everyday items, like cans of soda; vending machines have become stubborn barometer and symbol of country's struggles, with many machines selling soft drinks for prices lower than in 1980s. MORE

Apr. 27, 2013

Bank of Japan, under leadership of new governor Haruhiko Kuroda, announces that it expects to achieve ambitious goal of 2 percent annual inflation by 2015 or early 2016; Prime Min Shinzo Abe has made fight against country's endemic deflation problem a central tenet of his economic policy. MORE

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